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BGR is reporting that BlackBerry maker RIM is looking into offering their BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service on other platforms, including the iPhone's iOS.

As far as what Android and iOS users can look forward to, we’ve been told RIM will offer stripped down versions of the BBM experience BlackBerry owners know and love. That way, Android and iOS users can communicate with practically anyone who has a smartphone using BBM, but they might not be able to share photos, location, or videos (when RIM crosses that bridge). Users who want the full BlackBerry Messenger experience will still need a BlackBerry smartphone to get it. At the same time, RIM could own the entire messaging app category on every major smartphone OS platform and could potentially draw new users in because it has given them a taste of what BlackBerry Messenger is all about.

This is perhaps in response to apps like Kik, Whatsapp, and Facebook's newly acquired Beluga offering very BBM-like apps on multiple platforms already, threatening to take over the space created by BlackBerry.

Reader comments

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I been waiting for this:) ....
but honestly , don't disable anything . cause bbm doesn't have a whole lot of special features to begin with .
but all the rest of the bootleg iPhone apps that try to get like bbm fail . this is so helpfull and all my friends have blackberries , now I can stick to keeping my lovable iPhone 4 :) !!!

I love my blackberry i do not like touch phones Ive had then an ddo not want them but I hvae many friends that have I phones that I would love to keep in touch with thru the bbm but to pay for whats app is not what I'm willing to do nor are they!!!

Please do it! Honestly, that is the only thing I miss from switching to the iPhone (Whig by far is superior in every sense) I know everyone would pay for it so they aren't going to be losing money. The longer whatsapp stays on the market the less time blackberry stands a chance as a whole. Switching from the bb I had over 160+ contacts and now am down to around 80. I rarely call people and dont need their numbers- bbm pin is pretty much more than I need in order to stay in touch with them. Now 56 out of the 80 contacts on my phone have whatsapp - anyone would be a fool to say that people wont buy bbm. Whatsapp does the job- but we all miss the bbm experience. RIM needs to realize their phones are a piece of crap and when people are looking to find other instant meesaging services the bbm hype will die- meaning their sales will plummet as well. It would be a smart move on their end to make bbm an app for not only the iPhone but android phones as well. Hell, I would download it for 10 bucks! But that's because I had a bb at one point. I say 4.99 max and fully loaded would be the best choice they could ever make.

I Think that RIM should definitely offer BBM as a cross plat-form texting for smartphones. I think offering a partal version for free is great but if they offered the full version at a one time price of $10-$15 they would still make a ton of money, because I know tons of people who would pay it to be able to have the ability to BBM their friends. There are also millions of people out there who would definitely pay for an app like BBM. I think if RIM thinks this through correctly we can see a dramatic shift in SMS messaging and PERHAPS if done correctly a new monopoly when it comes to text messaging if RIM does justice to BBM and getting it out there to other smartphones. I'm just saying.

I have both a BlackBerry and iPhone out of necessity (one for work and one for personal), and I like how fast and convenient BBM is. Bringing it to the iPhone would be cool, but I don't know whether BBM would have the critical mass to push out cross-platform apps such as WhatsApp or PingChat, especially if the BBM version offered is a chat-only program.
Without that critical mass, BBM would still be just a minor player in the iPhone/Android market, meaning uptake would be slower than anticipated. And if few people use it, there would be little incentive to download it in the first place.
Maybe instead of waiting for people to download it, RIM could partner with other mobile phone manufacturers to place BBM on their phones by default?
I have my own editorial about this here: http://blog.bulsuk.com/2011/03/editorial-blackberry-messenger-bbm-on.html

The advantage of BBM is that it's the standard on blackberry phone while iOS and android user users don't have a standard messaging app and the more messaging apps released fragments the market more, two of my daughters and my wife have blackberry's I have the iPhone 4, I have whatapp ect. But I don't know anyone who uses them

Striped down version of BBM for iPhone and Androids?? Ha Ha Ha Ha..... RIM is joking. And I am pretty sure once RIM starts developing app for iPhone they can't even think of making an app that won't be able to share photos, videos etc..... RIM, let me tell you one thing..... GROW UP BOYZ!!! What's app Rocks.... and if RIM wants BBM to take over this space and be no.1 then they should be coming with a fully loaded BBM app for iPhone. That will be a smart move.

I'm pretty sure RIM is doing this as a teaser. The BBM app for the iOS and android phones will literally just be a multi-platform version of unlimited SMS. They're also gonna charge an arm and a leg for it. That's my prediction, at least.

For as long as WhatsApp is avaiable on all platforms, I see absolutely no reason for BBM on iPhone. This space, along with VoIP, is getting too crowded. Pick a vendor and go with it. It looks like Skype have VoIP nailed. Maybe WhatsApp is a suitor for on-the-go chat

I personally don't see why RIM would do this. I use a BB because the keyboard is superior and I'm comletely resisting getting used to a full touchscreen phone. However, I don't use BBM all that much despite having quite a few friends who have BBs. I think it's great, I just don't really see a need for it. It does have some advantages that I use from time to time.
I think that right now in the app market there are many alternatives, so most people who aren't on a BB won't go for it. I'd rather SMS, but if my iPhone and Android friends could get BBM, I'd probably start using it more.

This is the worst business move ever. They r giving up there only competitive advantage to their competition. If there phones could compete with apple or android it would be a good idea but the only thing they have going for them is BBM and there giving it away. Idiots!

the reason i love blackberrys so much other then bbm CUZ ITS SOo EASY TO type with... i would never get an iphone unless it came with a full keyboard. imagine typing an long as email with an iphone... i guess the good thing bout it is that itll stop me from msgin while driving.. lol

Well, I would love it. I and my wife have iPhone 4's but I also have a BB. I would love to be able to use BBM to contact her. It is fast and easy to use. Ideally RIM would offer basic texting add on for $3.00 a month or a small yearly subscription. If you wanted the full BBM it would cost more. Not over $7.00 and probably $5.00-5.99 would sell it. WhatsApp is nice but not as fast and accurate, I use it on my BB to contact my wife and others who do not have BB's.
As for RIM and BB being dead, that is crazy. They have the best enterprise security system for business and BIS rules. Yes, the OS is way past its prime but look for that to change probably in 2012. They are also number one in many emerging countries,they can resell older phones for those networks that haven't gone 3.3.5,3.75 and pseudo 4G.

Oh and one more thing. For the people that are suggesting that iPhone users should suggest other messaging apps to their friends to communicate like bbm...that's just a horrible idea. That's like telling a friend can you download this messaging app so I can text you for free instead of wasting my texts on you? That's what I think at least.

I was a former bb user before getting my iPhone on big red. BBM is a great way to communicate and I am very excited about this news. I run my own company and a majority of my professional contacts have BBM. It might be a very simple ui but it did what it advertised. BBM would be great and I hope it does come to the iPhone.

First of all if you add all the different models of blackberries there are, somebody is still doing something right over at Rim. Iphone might be #1 but Blackberries are like #3, #4, #6, #7, #8, and #9 in sales. So i think the point is how it would make the bbm users be able to contact many more people and vice verse with their BBM app. As a former current ipad owner and current BBM owner BBM is a ridiculously better means of communication from device to device. You cant knock it if you haven't ever used it for a couple of days. There's a reason the sister site is called "crackberry" , its addictive..

Say "NO" to that stupid idea. We don't need that messenger from RIM. we got from whatsapp (that is way better). To beluga, yahoo, hotmail, aol, pinhchat etc etc etc.
So WE DON'T NEED NOTHING FROM RIM. go away with that stupid idea.

I love the idea! Stripped down or not. I used to swear by BlackBerry and BBM (read: SMS-type text messaging, MMS-like picture messaging as well as videos, all through data, not SMS text package allowances)
@kayno: WhatsApp may be a nice app, but there is no IM client that can do BBM messaging, period.

They should bring it, however if its stripped down.. I will most likely still use WhatsApp that lets me do everything.. Whats the point of doing it if they aren't going all out.. people on iOS or Android now using other messaging apps wont all of a sudden run to BB because they want to be able to send pics, videos and such through BBM. What I do know however is if they Bring full fledged BBM to iOS and Android, they will loose a lot of BB users..

It's always astonishing to contemplated why these big phone companies do not capitalize on their strengthens before other people make comparable software or hardware.
I've always wondered why RIM hasn't made BBM available on multiple mobile OS's; or why Microsoft hasn't made Office and Skydrive widely available or made a Zune WP7; or Google hasn't placed its Navigation software on other platforms; or Apple with iTunes or iMovies; etc....
I understand the factors of competition and consumer gain and loss. But I feel, for example, if MS would have put Office on iOS, Android, webOS, etc; linked it to Skydrive and sold it for $5-$10 they would have made a lot from it. Now there's Documents to Go and QuickOffice.

Agreed. If this is true, then RIM is a little too late to the party. They should have done this a couple of years ago. Like you, everyone I know has switched to either the iPhone or an Android device. My dad is one of the few people I know who still has a BlackBerry and that's because his company will only support them. If he had his way, he'd have an iPhone himself.

ehh... everyone i know who USED to have a blackberry have moved on to iPhone or some android device. and if they disable photo sharing? no thanks. pingchat does everything i need outside of email and it looks better

Ever hear the quote "You can't teach an old dog new apps?" or was it "tricks?" I don't know. With your age, I'm sure you have. Which is why I'll address the major factor that RIM would ever spend the time and effort cultivating a BBM app. for devices aside from their own - because users will want to leave RIM, but keep a RIM familiar experience in some aspects.

I'm not sure what they're "starting to get", other than the final nail in RIM's coffin. Why share the only real advantage you have in the smartphone market unless you're trying to set yourself up for a takeover. I wonder when the first Googleberry phone will hit the market?

The point is enterprise integration. If the enterprise is already using BBM, then making the transition to products like iPad is easier. it's not necessarily good for RIM, but I guess they have determined that they're going to lose a significant share of the enterprise market - the best way forward is to work with other devices, not isolate itself.

After switching to the iPhone from a BB, I did miss BBM. Now I could care less. I have unlimited texting so I just text people. Can RIM and Blackberry just become obsolete already. The phones are junk.

really? junk? please expand on your argument? I can argue that iphones are junk too but I would need to back up my argument like how until the first ios update you were not able to copy and paste. and up until 4.3 you were not able to charge and use your phone at the same time.

What is to strip down haha. It's a solid white background with black text that you send to people. I don't know what there really is to strip down. I used it years ago when I had a few BB devices and wasn't ever impressed with it.

The thing you guys don't seem to realize is that with any carrier on the planet bbm is the cheapest form of data. With Rogers for example don't need to get a complete data plan to have email and bbm services and it's only around $10 extra. Also when you travel to Europe or to the middle it's dirt cheap to get even a pay as you go data plan for bbm and email. So from an international standpoint you can keep in touch with people all around the world for as long as you like without having to pay a lot. When I travel iNstead of activating an international phone line with Rogers I simply use bbm instead. So it really depends what you need it for.